The Kansas City Chiefs have lost another wide receiver in free agency, this time a player they acquired in a midseason trade.
According to multiple reports, the Baltimore Ravens are swooping in to sign Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins. He’ll earn a one-year contract worth up to $6M, which should theoretically get Kansas City on the board for a 2026 compensatory draft pick. This also means Hopkins will leave the Chiefs after not even spending a full season in Kansas City.
A trade acquisition by way of the Tennessee Titans in Week 8 ahead of the NFL’s annual trade deadline, Hopkins finished the 2024 NFL regular season with 41 receptions for 437 yards and four touchdowns. Ultimately, his time with the Chiefs was a bit peculiar, with a fairly hot start and an ice-cold finish.
Hopkins’ snaps and participation were regularly increasing from Week 8 through Week 13, but they suddenly began to go in the wrong direction thereafter. Some speculated that it had to do with the trade conditions with Tennessee to stop a fifth-round pick from turning into a fourth-round pick. From Week 14 onward, Hopkins only once exceeded 50% of Kansas City’s offensive snaps. During the postseason, his highest offensive snap total was just 38% (Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles).
Hopkins staying in the AFC with the Ravens means Kansas City will see him return to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium sometime during the 2025 NFL season. The Ravens are one of the team’s home opponents for 2025.
